MIX IT UP! Kofta Kebabs: Easy and DAMN TASTY!

Since we're big on locally sourced foods, organically raise and grass-fed beef. We like knowing exactly the land our food was raised on and the people who did so. 

This is a balanced recipe that satisfies the Paleo-diet and food blahs of winter. Definitely SPICED UP!

An "easy-as-meatloaf" recipe can be altered to taste. In combination with the bold flavors of allspice and mace resting for a few hours really punch up this dish. The fresh parsley, cilantro, and ground onion keep the meat juicy and help prevent drying. If you find yourself in a dry-meat situation, just add Garlic-Tahini Sauce (recipe follows). A true carnivore pleaser!! 

Kofta Kebabs 

Ingredients:

• 2-3 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 
• 1 pound ground lamb
• 1 pound ground grass-fed beef
• 1/3 cup grated onion (about half a med onion)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground mace
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Olive Oil (to baste meat before cooking- grass fed beef and lamb is very lean).

28 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes (less is more, optional for broiler). 


Quartered onions for roasting/grilling (optional).

Kebabs Directions:

1. Mash the garlic into a paste with the salt using a mortar and pestle or the flat side of a chef's knife on your cutting board. Mix the garlic into the lamb along with the onion, cilantro, parsley, coriander, mace, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, cayenne pepper, ginger, and pepper in a mixing bowl until well blended. 
2. Form the mixture into logs about 1-1/2" wide and length of your pan. Place the kebabs onto a foil-lined baking sheet, cover, and refrigerate at least 20 minutes, or overnight.
3. Preheat broiler to 500 degrees. If using an outdoor grill fire up to medium heat, and lightly oil grate.
4. Cook the meat in the broiler about 3 minutes, flip and cook another 3-4 minutes until done. For grill place skewers on the preheated grill, turning occasionally, until the lamb has cooked to your desired degree of doneness, about 6 minutes for medium.
5. Serve with dill-rice, pita, lemon, and plenty of garlic-tahini sauce.  

Garlic Tahini Sauce 

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced and ground into a paste 
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup tahini (ground sesame paste) 
• juice of 1/2 fresh lemon (or more to taste)
• water
• 
  

• Garlic Sauce Directions:

   1. Smash garlic with the blade of a good chef's knife. do a quick mince, add salt and grind into a paste with the blade of your knife.
  2. In a bowl add tahini and stir in garlic-paste until smooth. 
  3. Add lemon juice, this should make a dry paste. 
  4. Finally slowly add water and more lemon juice stir until desired consistency and flavor. I like mine a bit on the think sauce side.
  
  
  Great on meats as a sauce or as a dressing on a simple tomato & romaine salad.
  
  
  Eat, Enjoy, SHARE. 
  

  
  
  
  

Becky Bortzfield's Pineapple Mojitos

This awesome KW Realtor from Gator-fan land knows summer fun! A wonderfully refreshing beverage! Thanks Becky for sharing!

5-6 Fresh Mint leaves
1 packet of Splenda
1 shot of Cruzan Citrus Rum
1/4 cup of Pineapple Juice
1/2 cup of Club Soda
Ice Cups

Muddle the Mint and splenda together in a shaker. (To extract the mint oils). Add Rum, Juice, and Soda. Pour over ice cubes. Increase the amount of rum if you like yours a little stronger.

Video Attached: Gr8 GRILL! Romaine, Asparagus, Broccoli, and Salmon.

This is Sooooo Easy you'll wonder why others eat pre-packaged food. It's Romaine Lettuce (w balsamic), Asparagus (w lemon), and Broccoli, All with olive oil= AWESOME! Kristin C.W. reminded me that Radicchio is great prepared this way too... Julie O. mentioned Frisee prepared this way, I'll try that next time.  And of course remember the Omega-3 rich Wild Salmon.

All this may be the easiest, idiot-proof, tastiest, fastest grilling ever!

Ingredients:


Romaine lettuce
Fresh Asparagus
Fresh Broccoli
Olive Oil


Fresh or frozen Wild Alaskan Red Sock-Eye Salmon boneless fillet (skin on).
Balsamic Vinegar
Fresh Lemon Juice

Sea Salt, Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Simple Memorial Day BBQ Sauce for bastin' or dippin'

Adapted from Amazing Ribs.

We made these ribs yesterday and this was just right amount of tang that the kids could handle too. The meat flavor stays strong, this sauce just adds a little somethin' somethin.

Recipe

Yield: Makes about 3 cups.

Preparation time: About 6 minutes.

Ingredients:

1 cup distilled vinegar (do not use cider vinegar)
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup real maple syrup

3/4 cup ketchup
8 oz tomato sauce, or paste if you like it thicker
1 teaspoon hot sauce, I used Frank's Red Hot.
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 1/2 tablespoon finely ground black pepper

About the vinegar. I've seen both distilled and cider vinegar used in NC. I usually prefer cider vinegar in most of my sauce recipes because it has more flavor, but in this recipe I prefer distilled. Try both on meat and see which you prefer. Lemme know.

Make it:
1) Whisk together all the ingredients. I made mine right before spooning the sauce over ribs, about 2-3 tablespoons per baste, and twice per side near the end grilling time to get a nice char but no burn. Letting the flavors blend longer helps intensify the taste. Having them sit for at least three hours to allow the flavors to meld. Overnight is better. A week is best.

If you do mop, a silicon brush works well. It holds lots of fluid and is easy to clean. I have a silicon string mop that I like better. A lot of places still use string mops, but I think these are to hard to clean and potential sources of food poisoning.

2) Before serving, take the remaining mop and boil it to sterilize it. With a clean brush, to prevent contamination by a brush used on uncooked meat, mop the meat one last time. Serve the sauce in a cruet on the side so your guests can drizzle on more if they wish. Leftovers will keep for months in the refrigerator.

Enjoy, enjoy, share, enjoy. Happy Memorial Day.

Sean

Burmese Chicken for the grill

My friend Becky wanted to know what to do with CHICKEN for dinner. My first thought was a regular ole' bbq chicken or grilled lime chicken for salads or taco wraps. I mean c'mon summer is here and grillin' time IS ON!

Then I got to remembering a wonderful dish and my negligence in sharing great recipies on my blog. If you don't try it tonight, marinade it now for tomorrow night. Serve with organic jasime rice; you may need a rice-cooker (I d0).

On a gluten & dairy free diet: I haven't found a great dairy-free subsitute for yogurt yet, so if you find one let me know. My guess is that coconut milk would work great, I just haven't tried it yet... well this makes my dinner plans for tonight.

Let me know your thoughts on this dish. Thx! Brady.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast (about 8) or thighs.

• 2/3 cup plain yogurt
  
• 1 teaspoons salt
  
• 1/2 teaspoon tumeric
  
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  
• 1 teaspoon hot paprika or chili powder

• Lime wedges
  
• Toasted Sesame Salt*

I usually save a bit of the yogurt "marinade" to serve on the side (no raw chicken please). Serving it with the limes and sesame salt really adds something to the dish. Serve with organic basmati, jasmine, or other long grain rice. A preferred veggie side is roasted brocolli.

Simply mix the ingredients from yogurt thru chili powder... add chicken and marinade for 30 minutes to over-night. Place chicken on hot grill until cooked thru; when I grill I like to only turn this thick marinade a few times, adding more yogurt sauce after turning.

*Here's a link to the Sesame Salt Recipe.

If your grilling has a rain delay... dice the chicken and after marinading, bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30-35 minutes.

Scrumptious Mushroom tapas, EASY

In bringing my best to the day, I'm posting for the first in a long while.

There's some great mushrooms available right now at the local farmers market. One of the simplest and delicious tapas that pairs great with wine and friends.

You can play with the ingredients a bit if needed, but these really bring out the "A-game" in a flavor explosion. It's worth the extra expense, and you'll add tons more flavor to your dishes.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp goat butter
• 2 tbsp organic olive oil
• 1-2 tsp cloves organic garlic, minced
• 2-3 Tbsp red organic onion, minced
  
• 1 pound crimini mushrooms, cleaned and bottom of stems removed
• 1/2 tsp Spanish paprika
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves
• Kosher or Sea salt to taste
• 2 Tbsp dry sherry wine vinegar

Method:

First, open a good bottle of Spanish red wine, if you're unsure or don't have a great wine assistant Marqués de Cáceres winery always has good options and available in many locations. But there are soooo many great Spanish reds, many under $15. I'll add another great bottle we had at a Chicago Wine Enthusiast tasting the other night. This dish would would be awesome paired with that wine.

In a large pan, melt butter over med-high heat until it's bubbling and beginning to turn slightly brown. Add Olive Oil and heat through, about 20 seconds. Add minced garlic and onions, saute until soft and translucent.

Add cleaned mushrooms, briskly shaking pan to coat all mushrooms with the butter sauce. Once all mushrooms are coated, sprinkle with salt, thyme, and Spanish paprika. Saute another 2 minutes uncovered, occasionally shaking the pan. Vigorously shake the pan while adding the sherry vinegar, essentially deglazing the pan. Reduce heat to low, and allow to mushrooms to rest and soak up the tasty greatness. Pop one in your mouth, add a bit more salt if necessary.

Serve warm or cold, maybe with some soft goat cheese and crusty bread. These things are GREAT! Pic from another good Rachel Ray recipe.

Great Yogurt Marinated Grilled Lamb & Portobello Mushrooms

This dish is a great treat for you grilling fanatics seeking a new flavor for the grill.

You may know we primarily buy pastured meats direct from the farmer. However, we ran out of lamb and in most grocery stores, Lamb is one meat that we believe is pretty safe from over commercializing with is growth processing... or at least that's our hope and belief for now. My friend Mike @ Green Akey's Farm raises his own pastured beef, chicken, lamb, and pork. When we can get meat direct from a farmer like him, we do. The pastured lamb has a much better flavor, but in a pinch and easy of access I go with the best choice for the money at the grocery store.

Our thinking is better ingredients today make for less health issues tomorrow. Plus from a purely economic stand point, this meal cost about as much as 2 adult meals and 3 kids meals at a fast food place, about $20. We ate with my parents, serving 4 adults and 3 kids. Any extra yummy left-overs make for the perfect lunch.

I adapted Bill Daily's recipe for Butterfly Lamb in the Chicago Tribune. This recipe is pretty versatile as my father experimented with the left over marinade and used up the stuff with drenching sliced Portobello Mushrooms. They cooked up great without sticking to the grill with amazing flavor. One could make a meal from just the mushrooms. Try the Lamb, it's a great dish for those who have never tried Lamb. And if not readily available, you can use just about any other meat on the bone: Chicken, Pork, Beef, Bison, Goat any variety meat that works for your palette and budget.

We served ours with fresh husk-grilled Corn, grilled Zucchini, salad, and Botan brand white-rice,

Prep: 10 minutes Marinate: 8 hours to Overnight (I did mine in the morning)

Cook: 16 minutes

Makes: 10 servings

2 cups plain Organic Yogurt

2 tablespoons each: Cumin, Madras-style Curry powder

1 tablespoon Ground Coriander

1 teaspoon each: salt, black pepper

Juice of 1/2 lemon (save other half for finishing).

Lamb Shoulder Blade Chops, bone-in, about 3 pounds

1 Mix all the ingredients except lamb in a medium bowl. Slather the mixture over the lamb in a shallow pan; massage the meat gently to work the marinade into the tissue. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate overnight.

2 Prepare a grill for direct, medium heat. Grill lamb 8 minutes per side. Check for doneness; grill until desired temperature is reached, about 15 minutes for medium. I like to have the fat on the meat edges caramelize a bit but not burn.

3 Remove from grill, place on serving platter and finish with remaining Juice from the other 1/2 of lemon. Serve immediately.

ENJOY!

Nutrition information

Per serving: 346 calories, 50% of calories from fat, 19 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, 114 mg cholesterol, 5 g carbohydrates, 37 g protein, 378 mg sodium, 1 g fiber